That depends on what you think "free will" means. If it means a neural
network can produce non-random outputs with no input - the answer is
yes. If it means you can't know the totality of the causes of your
thoughts and actions the answer is no. If it means you actions arise
from your biology and experience without coercion the answer is no. It
all depends on what you mean.
Brent
On 3/12/2010 1:28 PM, L.W. Sterritt wrote:
Doesn't free will imply that we live in a macroscopically acausal
universe, where our neural networks can produce outputs with no
physical input? Arguments about QM/randomness in the network seem to
produce just that - randomness.
William
On Mar 12, 2010, at 12:53 PM, m.a. wrote:
----- Original Message -----
*From:* Bruno Marchal <mailto:marc...@ulb.ac.be>
*To:* everything-list@googlegroups.com
<mailto:everything-list@googlegroups.com>
*Sent:* Friday, March 12, 2010 2:49 PM
*Subject:* Re: Free will: Wrong entry.
On 12 Mar 2010, at 18:34, m.a. wrote:
What sort of "short cut" are you talking about? I don't see any
short cuts here. I can see where people will find reasons
afterwards to justify their decisions by consulting conscience
and notions of good and bad, but that's all
/a posterior/. marty a.
I am not sure what you are talking about. You may elaborate what
do you mean by free will, and why you believe it does not exist.
But this has been discussed very often, notably on the FOR list.
You may consult the archive.
I am not sure "free" adds anything to the will. (Free) will is
*the ability of a person to develop personal goals and to satisfy
them in absence of coercion*. I think most animals have free
will, and that such a notion has nothing to do with indeterminism
of the mind (but has to do with self-indeterminacy). Like
consciousness "having free will" is probably in the corona G* \
G. If true it is not provable.
Bruno
Reply:
I agree with you that quantum indeterminacy
doesn't affect (free) will: "Quantum mechanics is local and
deterministic, and explains why it seems indeterministic to the
99,9999...% of the observers." (3/12/2010 7:58 AM),
which is why I feel that your use of the words "ability" and
"develop" when you say: "the ability of a person to develop
personal goals and to satisfy them in absence of coercion"
(above) can as easily refer to completely determined processes
which introspection identfies as voluntary a split second
afterwards ... as it can anything else. m.a.
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